The Art of Team Bonding
by Anna575
Summary: A series of one-shots about what normally goes on in Avengers Tower while Percy is there. Lots of family times, humor, and some action! Set in The Art of Finding Yourself verse.
1. A New Addition

**A/N: Sorry, this took a little longer than I thought it would. I recently got swamped with a ton of work, and I pretty much broke one of my fingers in basketball. You can imagine how hard that makes writing. But enough complaining! Enjoy, faithful readers. :)**

**Disclaimer: I'm just writing this for fun. I don't own anything, sadly.**

* * *

A New Addition

"Clint, I swear, if you drop one more thing on me from those freaking vents, I _will_ kill you and make it look like an accident!" Bruce hears Tony shriek from the kitchen. Bruce walks in and tries to keep his amusement off his face when he sees Tony drenched in what he hopes is a safe liquid. Although, Bruce thinks wryly, it wouldn't be the first time something that made you itch for a week was put either intentionally or not on someone in the tower. Not with people like Tony and Clint around.

Bruce smothers his smile as he hears Clint's cackles from the vents above as Clint shuffles away. Tony turns to Bruce pleadingly. "Can't you give me, like, a humongous sedative to put him down for just a couple seconds? Please?"

Bruce holds his hands up in surrender. Last time he had gotten in the middle of one of their wars, he'd been on the receiving end of too many "get even" plans. He says as much to Tony.

"But aren't we supposed to be Science Bros or something?" Tony whines.

"I have a hard time believing that this man is a genius," Steve says as he enters the kitchen, plucking a banana from its cluster. He had gotten better with the whole teasing thing after he realized that that sort of thing was the norm; in Avengers Tower, it was how you showed affection, apparently.

After the Battle of New York, things had been tense between everyone. In fact, when everyone decided it'd be good if they all moved into the same tower to show the world that yes, they were a united team with no problems whatsoever, Bruce was sure the tower was going to implode in a matter of days. It had been everyone's surprise when they had started clicking and understanding each other. Of course, it helped when they saved each other's lives on a daily basis. Their job kind of required them to be close, even if they didn't want to.

Yes, they still fought. Yes, they still got mad each other for what they later realized were stupid reasons, but they were a team. And, more importantly, they were beginning to become a family. A family that watched out for each other and was there for each other when needed. Bruce had the feeling that one day, they would be really close. They were about three-quarters there, anyway. They could be the family that almost everyone on the team had never had. It was both terrifying letting someone get that close to you willingly and relieving that someone else had your back. They weren't alone.

"You wound me," Tony says, clutching his chest dramatically. Bruce thinks it would be more effective if that Mysterious Liquid wasn't dripping its way into his eyes.

"Tony, you really need to go clean up before you contaminate the tower with God knows what," Natasha informs Tony, her eyes sparkling with humor as she sashays to the table to sit, her usual grace making itself known.

Tony groans long-sufferingly and stomps his way out of the kitchen like a petulant child, snatching the tail end of Steve's banana on the way out. Steve sighs resignedly, obviously used to the amount of stealing and good-natured corruptiveness in this tower.

"What's on the agenda for today?" Bruce asks.

Thor walks into the room wearing a shirt that is supposed to be baggy that somehow manages to hug his skin like spandex. Bruce huffs. One of these days, they'll find a shirt that is big enough to actually fit the thunder god. "We have an agenda?" Thor asks confused.

"It's a figure of speech," Clint explains as he drops down from a vent, dusting himself off. He places the cover back on carefully. "Bruce is just asking what we're going to do today."

Thor's face clears, and he nods, no doubt chocking it up to funny little mortals and their funny little habits. He walks over to the cabinet and pulls out a s'mores flavored box of pop tarts. He fumbles with the toaster for a moment before finally adjusting it to a setting that won't burn his pop tart to a crisp. Which Bruce can unfortunately say has happened before. Several times, in fact.

Tony saunters back into the kitchen and leans against the counter, glaring at Clint. "What even was that?"

Clint grins. "My own personal concoction," he says vaguely.

"What are we doing today?" Bruce repeats, tactfully steering the conversation away from something that might develop into yet another Prank War.

Steve shrugs. "I don't know. It's not like we have a meeting today or anything."

"Fury doesn't want us to do something?" Natasha asks, eyebrows raised. "That's a first."

"I think I'll go for a walk, and we can do something later tonight," Bruce suggests. Thor's pop tart springs up, scaring him like it does all the time. Thor recovers quickly, though, and is soon gulping down his pop tarts in no time.

"We can watch a movie or something," Tony agrees easily. It was one of the Avengers' favorite things to do to wind down. "Hey, Thor, you wanna come charge up my suits?"

Bruce exits the kitchen to Steve's exasperated face and Natasha's scolding that no, Tony, you can't keep charging your suits on the roof via thunder god because one day people will see and then what do you think Fury would say?

Bruce smiles fondly. His team is crazy, but he wouldn't have it any other way.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

It's a good thing Bruce goes on a walk, in the end, because it's beautiful outside. It's been a while since Bruce has gotten some time to himself that wasn't inside the tower between Tony's stunts in the lab and the missions Fury sends them on. Bruce sighs in contentment. He could get used to this. The sun shining brightly, the birds chirping cheerily, the smell of fresh air, and the practically glowing green grass. It is peaceful, and no one's bothering him, for once.

"Excuse me, sir, do you have a moment?"

Bruce closes his eyes for a moment, counting to ten mentally to gather his patience. Of course he had to go and jinx himself. So much for no one bothering him.

"Yes?" he asks politely as he turns around. He frowns as he observes this guy for a moment. He's learned to be really good at remembering faces, and Bruce is sure he's never seen him before. The guy has on Bermuda shorts and a Hawaiian print shirt. His twinkling sea green eyes crinkle at the edges, and his skin is tanned, like he spends a lot of time out in the sun. He has salt and pepper hair and a beard. He looks like a nice guy. There is something about him that was weird that Bruce can't put his finger on, though. Maybe it's the unassuming aura of power around him?

"Sorry to bother you, but I need to talk to you," the man says.

Bruce blinks in surprise. "Uh, do I know you?" He pushes his glasses further up his nose, a nervous habit he's developed over the years.

"No." The man seems to think this is funny from the way the laugh lines around his eyes scrunch up. "But I really do have to talk to you about something important, Bruce."

Bruce feels a chill go up his spine and automatically starts thinking about potential places to run to if things get serious. He doesn't want to Hulk out right now. "How do you know my name?"

"Walk with me," the man invites. Somehow, it doesn't seem like a suggestion, but a command. Bruce falls into step next to him.

"I came to give you a warning," he says amiably, like he's talking about the weather. "Things are going to be getting quite crazy soon, and I thought you should have a head's up for a change."

"What?" Bruce asks intelligently.

"I can't tell you much, unfortunately. But I can give you a few tips and hints." He smiles warmly, and it reminds Bruce of a warm summer's day on the beach. It doesn't help that he can smell the beach right now. Bruce shakes his head slightly so he can concentrate on what this guy is saying. "I advise you to trust your new member that you'll be getting soon. He's more than meets the eye, as the saying goes."

"New member?" Bruce repeats dumbly. "We aren't getting a new member." Bruce mentally berates himself. _Are you sure you're a doctor? _he asks himself, rolling his eyes internally. What would his professors have said?

The man nods. "Even your director doesn't know this yet, but he will soon. Like I said, you can trust him. He is extremely loyal and has a very strong moral compass. I have a feeling you and your team will like him. He will help you save the world. It will be a mutual help-help thing. You both give a little something of yourselves," he informs Bruce.

"It took a while for us to get used to each other," Bruce finds himself saying. "We aren't very good with being close to new people."

The man laughs. "Believe me, he manages to worm his way into your heart whether you want him or not. I can honestly say I've never met anyone like him before."

"What sort of trouble did you mean?" Bruce asks, remembering that sentence from earlier. "You said trouble earlier. And how are we supposed to help him?"

The man stops walking, and Bruce does the same. Bruce frowns in confusion when he hears thunder. There isn't a cloud in the sky, and he has a funny feeling that it wasn't Thor this time. Bruce hears the guy sigh. "That's my cue," he tells Bruce ruefully. "It's time for me to leave. Have a good day."

"Wait," Bruce says suddenly. The man, surprisingly, does for a moment. "Who is this new member?"

The man smiles. "My son." Then, he _disappears. _

Bruce's mouth drops down in shock as the man just vanishes. Bruce shakes his head. "I refuse to be surprised by this," he says to himself with conviction as he starts toward the tower on reflex. "I refuse to be surprised by this, I _refuse._"

Bruce mutters a curse in Arabic. He so totally didn't see this coming.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

"Guys," Bruce calls when he enters the Avengers' Floor. "Guys, you wouldn't believe what happened when I went for a simple walk."

Tony pokes his head into the living room where Bruce is, his hair disheveled from running his fingers through it. "Please, _please_, tell me some random guy who looked like he was from Hawaii didn't come up and tell you to trust his kid who's going to help us save the world," Tony pleads, like it's his last lifeline.

"You, too, huh?" Bruce asks sympathetically.

"How did he just _vanish_?" Tony mutters, walking to his normal spot on the couch and dropping onto it heavily. The others pile into the living room and take their usual seats.

"So, we all came into contact with the same guy, on the same subject matter, on the same day, around the same time," Steve says. "Any revelations, guys?"

"Do you think he was telling the truth?" Tony asks.

"Yes," Natasha says, confident that she's right. Bruce doesn't doubt her. "I could tell that he was either saying the truth or what he believed was the truth."

"And since he didn't look gullible or stupid," Clint chimes in, "we think it's the former."

"What do you think he meant by we would help each other?" Steve asks. "How could we help him?"

"Your guess is as good as mine, Cap," Tony says, sinking lower into the cushions, deeper into thought.

Bruce nods in agreement and notices out of the corner of his eye that Thor is acting strangely quiet. "What do you think, Thor?" he asks.

Thor starts and looks up almost guiltily. "I beg your pardon?"

"What do you think this is?" Bruce says again.

"Ah," Thor says, looking uncomfortable. "I do not know." Bruce and the others might have believed him if he hadn't said it like a question. Plus, Thor's as easy to read as a book most times.

"Thor," Steve hedges.

Thor sighs. "I cannot tell you. It is forbidden of me. However, things will come to light within the week, I predict."

Clint squints at Thor. "What do you mean it's forbidden?"

"I can say no more, even if I wish I may," Thor says. Bruce feels bad for the poor guy. He looks genuinely distraught that he can't tell the team something.

"That's all right, big guy," Tony says, no doubt picking up on Thor being upset and sitting up straighter. "We'll just have to be patient for our apparently new teammate."

Thor brightens after that, and they decide to watch some action movie Natasha and Clint pick out.

Sure enough, in a week, things speed up considerably.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

"Tony! Come on!" Natasha shouts. "Get in the meeting room!"

"Yes, ma'am!" Tony calls back cheekily.

Bruce feels a little…apprehensive. He isn't sure what to expect of his new teammate. He just really hopes he isn't a jerk or an annoying kid. The Other Guy doesn't handle jerks or annoying people too well.

Tony finally walks into the formal meeting room where they almost never go. Bruce isn't exactly sure why they chose this room, of all places, to meet their newest addition to the Avengers. He thinks it's because Fury just wants to intimidate the poor guy. Fury glances at his watch. "He should be arriving any second now. Be prepared."

When the kid pops into thin air in front of them, Bruce couldn't be more surprised. He has messy black hair and bright sea green eyes and tanned skin just like his father. Which they later learn is Poseidon. Bruce tries not to think about _that_ very much. He knows enough gods to last him a lifetime, thanks. The kid couldn't have been more than eighteen, nineteen. His eyes dance around nervously, and Bruce takes the time to study him for a few moments.

The kid doesn't look like a jerk or bratty or annoying. He could have been a normal teenager. Except Bruce noticed something weird. The kid's eyes dart around like he's scanning for exits and making plans almost instinctively. His body isn't frail by any means, but it seems like it's been through trauma. A good deal of trauma. His body is fully healed, but sometimes a hand strays to a part of his body where Bruce guesses he got injured once. Bruce doesn't think the kid realizes he does it at all. The kid meets his eyes, and in that moment, Bruce feels himself empathize with him. His eyes look old, pained, if you look close enough. Like he's seen things no kid should ever have to see, especially at his age. It looks like the team's found yet another kindred spirit.

When the teenager doesn't flip after he learns Bruce is the Hulk and instead blows it off with a joke, Bruce knows he wants to keep him. And he can tell from his fiercely protective teammates that they start warming to the kid almost immediately after he says that.

Percy Jackson tells them his story, or a very short, summarized version, and then they eat pizza when it arrives at the tower. He tells them a little more about himself at Tony's wheedling, and Bruce can't help but be really impressed by what Percy's accomplished at a young age. After it all, Percy leaves to go to bed, and the team immediately gathers for an impromptu meeting.

"I like him," Tony says.

Bruce nods. "I second that."

"I think we _all _like him," Natasha says. "He doesn't brag, and he's just as adorably awkward as a normal teenager without all the usual drama and tediousness."

"Yeah, poor kid's been through a lot," Clint says. "I think he'll be a good asset to the team. And not just for his fighting skills."

"Agreed," Tony says.

"I also am in agreement," Thor says. "I truly think we will all grow to like him a great deal."

"Definitely," Steve yawns. "I'm going to bed now. Big day tomorrow, kind of. 'Night guys."

They all say their goodnights to each other and go to their separate bedrooms. Bruce slips into his bed and thinks of his new neighbor next door. He smiles. He has a really good feeling about the kid.

Bruce certainly can't complain about being bored for the next days to come. Of that, he can be sure.

* * *

**A/N: Yeah, so this isn't exactly a prompt, but I really wanted to do this as a kind of prelude to everything. Next chapter starts the prompts! Remember, the prompt box is still open! I'm not sure when I'll close it, but I'll give you a head's up of a few days. This won't have regular updates until school slows down and my finger isn't the size of a sausage, however. I won't abandon it, though. Promise. Let me know what you thought!**


	2. Just Don't Destroy the Tower

**A/N: And here's the next chapter. These prompts were given to me by a combination of a Guest and a few other people who wanted the rest of the crew to come over. Enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: Sorry, lads, but I don't own either the Avengers or the Percy Jackson characters.**

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Just Don't Destroy the Tower

"You want to come over _today_?" I asked my friends tentatively. At their insistent nods, I sighed.

Leo, Jason, and Piper had been wanting to come visit the tower again ever since they saw how cool everything was. Really, I wouldn't have minded so much if it would have just been a small group. It was easy for me to just watch just those three for trouble, especially if I enlisted the help of Annabeth. But that was the thing. It wasn't just those three.

Thalia, Nico, and Tyson wanted to come, too.

Don't get me wrong. I loved my cousins and half-brother. But those three plus Leo, Jason, and Piper would be a handful all at the same time. I wasn't worried about them not getting along well with the team. It was actually the opposite. I was worried they would get along _too well. _I didn't even want to think about the possibilities of Tyson, Leo, Bruce, and Tony in the same room.

But they were relentless, and I missed them. A lot. I would just have to pray to the gods that this tower could contain us all. "Fine. You can come," I told them.

"Yes!" they all shouted. It was weird seeing all six of them on the other side of the IM at the same time since they were never together. "Thanks, Percy!"

"Yeah, yeah," I muttered. "Just—"

Their heads popped up expectantly; they reminded me of toddlers being told they were going to have an extra twenty minutes' recess. I sighed again. "Just don't destroy the tower while you're here, okay?"

It was hard keeping a straight face when my friends practically fell over themselves to convince me that, no, they wouldn't destroy the tower, and yes, they would be perfect, model demigods, but I somehow managed. I snorted at that last one once I had cut off the connection, though. I stood up from my bed and walked out the room. It was time to tell the Avengers.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

"Guys," I said once everyone was sitting down. "I've got some good news, and some bad news. Which one do you want to hear first?"

"The bad news," Clint said decisively.

"The bad news is that my friends are coming to the tower today," I said.

Tony frowned. "Then what's the good news?"

"The good news is that my friends are coming to the tower today."

"It's good _and_ bad news?" Bruce asked. "Why? What's so bad?"

"It's not bad for me," I said. "I just feel bad for the people who are going to have to pay for the damage to the tower, that's all."

Tony waved a hand. "If it was anything like the explosion from last time, I'm completely okay with that."

"Yes, well, Pepper won't be once she gets back from her month-long trip to Japan," Natasha cut in reasonably.

"I'll fix it before then," Tony said defensively.

"So, they'll probably be here in an hour," I said over them. I smiled. "Good luck. My half-brother Tyson and cousins Thalia and Nico are coming, too."

"What's so bad about that?" Steve asked.

"Did I mention that Tyson was a Cyclops and Thalia and Nico were kids of the Big Three?"

"God help us."

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

"And this is the living room," I said to my friends. We were on our grand tour of the tower, or at least the parts I went to sometimes. I wasn't sure what Thalia and Nico were thinking, but my best bet was that they were pretty impressed by everything. Annabeth and the others minus Leo and Tyson were examining something Tony and Bruce had cooked up in their lab that was supposed to be kept a secret from me. Any attempt at me going near their workshop area had loud sirens going off—something Tony had programmed for JARVIS to do. I was dying of curiosity, but there was no way anyone was going to tell me before it was time for me to know.

"When did you say Leo and Tyson would get here, again?" Nico asked. Tyson and Leo had IM'ed me late last night saying that they were going to be late today for "unknown reasons." I had a feeling that it had to do with the project down in the labs, but of course they wouldn't tell me anything.

I checked my watch. "They should be here in about thirty minutes or so. But, knowing Leo, he could either be really early or really late with Tyson." I shook my head in mock exasperation. "That kid."

Thalia nodded. "Totally, Kelp Head." I grinned and shoved her shoulder.

"If you let the team hear that, they're gonna start calling me that, too," I warned, still smiling.

A small, wry smile crept onto Thalia's face, and I was reminded yet again how much I had missed my two cousins. "What else do they call you?"

"Do you want it in alphabetical order or in chronological order?"

She wrinkled her nose and whispered something to Nico, who snickered gleefully. I sighed loudly. "Guys, I'm really, really getting tired of all these secrets."

Nico blinked at me innocently. "What do you mean?"

I rolled my eyes. "I give up."

Thalia snorted and covered it up by coughing. I stared at her. "You can't tell me anything. Nothing at all," I guessed.

"Anything about what?" she asked blankly.

I heaved a sigh. I was going to develop a condition if I did that anymore. "It's like talking to three year olds," I muttered. "You guys wanna go spar or something in the gym since I can't even get near the labs? They have an archery range," I added to Thalia.

Her eyes lit up. "I am so totally for that." Nico shrugged and nodded, and we were on our way to the gym in no time.

We mostly messed around. Me and Nico hashed out a few easy-going matches with some stick swords that we found in the gym, courtesy of Tony, while Thalia obsessed over the archery range.

"I need to come here more often," she said, her eyes shining as she plucked her arrows from the targets again.

"Stop stroking the targets, Pinecone Face," I told her, snorting when I heard Nico's quickly smothered laughter. I was saved from being turned into a human pincushion only by Annabeth and the others coming into the gym.

"Tyson and Leo still aren't here?" Annabeth frowned.

Piper furrowed her brow. "They should be here. Unless they got in trouble?"

"Sir," JARVIS said, "I believe your friends are waiting in the kitchen as we speak."

"Thanks, JARVIS!" I said as I jogged out of the gym. It had been a while since I'd seen Tyson.

"Hey, Tyson!" I exclaimed as soon as I got into the kitchen. Tyson smiled widely and came at me like a tractor, almost lifting me off the ground with his excitement while he hugged me. "Brother!"

I patted Tyson on the back. "Okay, big guy," I gasped. "I can't breathe."

Tyson finally let me go with a final squeeze. I smiled at him again. It was great to see him. The last time I had seen him in person was about three weeks after the war had ended, and our time was cut short with all the things that had to be done. It was nice to actually spend some time with him while we weren't working.

"Oh, sure," Leo said. "That's completely fine if you ignore me. Okay." I rolled my eyes but gave Leo a brief, manly hug-pat. He grinned, his hair a mess, but his clothes were clean, for once. He patted his tool belt absently.

Leo clapped his hands together. "Well, it sure is glad to see everybody again. Especially you two." Leo winked at Thalia and Nico, earning an eye roll and an amused huff from each of them. The team came in, and I introduced everybody to each other.

Thalia squinted at Thor. "A thunder god, huh?" When Thor nodded, Thalia frowned. "Hm," she said. Nothing blew up, though, so I took that to be a good sign.

"It is very nice to meet another of Percy's brave friends," Thor said politely, but I could tell he was excited to meet Thalia, Nico, and Tyson. He had probably heard stories about them, too.

Thalia relented in her tough exterior. "Oh, alright. I guess you aren't that bad." Thor smiled, looking a little pleased with himself.

"So you're Percy's genius half-brother," I heard Tony saying to Tyson. "Kid, I gotta tell you, you're pretty awesome in the forges."

"Thank you," Tyson said brightly. "I like making my brother things, and I like making things go boom, too," he finished earnestly.

Tony grinned. "Dude, we're gonna be best friends. I love making things explode."

My eyes widened as I realized that Tyson and Tony together without supervision of someone reasonable (i.e. Natasha or Steve) would be very not good. Luckily, they went on to a safer topic, talking about engines instead. Leo overheard their conversation and joined in enthusiastically. I blinked at the words coming from them. I didn't understand anything.

I saw Nico quietly talking with Steve, and I saw them both smiling faintly. I knew they would get along. Annabeth and Piper were talking with Natasha, as usual, and Jason and Thalia were talking with Thor and Bruce on..something. Who knew, with those guys.

Argos trotted in after a while, and I picked up him to scratch him behind the ears. "Hey, little guy. You wanna meet some new people?" He wagged his tale and let his tongue loll out, so I took that as a yes.

I brought him to Thalia first, mostly because her eyes were glinting dangerously while talking to Thor, and I wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not. I left Argos in her arms for a little while to cool her off either way and walked over to where I heard Leo talking loudly about something. I decided to go check it out.

"Yeah, that giant baby can hold up under a ton of stuff!" he proclaimed. He puffed his chest out. "All led, of course, by the amazingly awesome Festus the dragon. His head is on the ship." Then Leo caught my eye as I came over and he instantly turned to me away from Tyson and Tony, who continued on with their conversation animatedly. Leo snapped his fingers.

"Percy! I meant to tell you something!" he said, his usual hyper self causing all his words to run together. It was like talking to a teenage Aphrodite girl when they were discussing makeup, I mused. "That receptionist lady told me to tell you hi. She looked like she really liked you or something."

I grinned. "Oh, which one? The girl with the blonde hair or the girl with the red hair? They're both really sweet."

Leo frowned. "Uh, neither. It was the one with the brunette hair and the pretty hazel eyes. It's weird, they were almost yellow in a certain light."

I froze. "Leo," I said slowly, "there is no girl who works at the desk with brunette hair and hazel eyes."

Leo's eyes widened. "That's not good."

I chewed on my bottom lip. "You thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Monster," Leo said disappointedly.

I sighed and jogged over to the elevator with Leo right behind me. "Percy, what is wrong?" Tyson asked worriedly, pausing in his conversation with Tony. Tony glanced up at me curiously.

"Me and Leo need to go check out a small little problem," I explained. "We'll be back in a few minutes, though." I stepped into the elevator with Leo right behind me.

I pulled out Riptide on the way down but didn't uncap it. Leo picked a sizable wrench out of his tool belt and spun it once. "No days off," Leo said glumly.

"It's probably just because of all the power going on in the tower," I pointed out. "I mean, four children of the Big Three, two demigods with extra powers, and a well-known daughter of Athena. Not to mention the Cyclops."

Leo smiled ruefully. "I guess we were kind of asking for it, huh?" He looked a little crestfallen by the fact that we couldn't catch a break, losing some of his cheerful demeanor.

I patted him on the shoulder as we stepped out of the elevator. "It'll be quick," I said. "We'll be back to the others in no time."

We walked into the lobby cautiously and peered at the now empty receptionist desk. I raised an eyebrow at it and immediately turned around. I rolled my eyes at what I saw and tapped Leo on the back of his hand. He turned around, his forehead crinkled in confusion until he saw what I nodded my head at.

"It's always the dramatic turn around," I mocked. "Not very original."

I took a moment to observe the monster in front of me. She (I'm pretty sure it was a she) had the top half of a dracaena and the bottom of a telkhine. You can imagine the unnaturalness about it. She must have been escaped prototype or something because her entire body wasn't very proportionate to itself. She was pretty off balance. It was almost funny when she hobbled closer toward us in a way that probably supposed to be menacing.

"Dude, what even are you?" Leo asked. "Some kind of monster mutant baby?" He shuddered. "That's gross on so many different levels."

I uncapped Riptide. "Let's cut to the chase here. You're kind of interrupting a family moment up there."

The monster-woman didn't even have time to get out a snide comment or anything. Leo and me worked seamlessly, like the parts of a well-oiled machine. This wasn't our first rodeo. She was gone within moments.

"See?" I told Leo, glancing down at the pair of heels left over. "Told you it'd be easy."

He grinned. "I mean, with me helping, did you expect any different?" I laughed and shoved him toward the elevator.

"Arrogance does not become you," I told him seriously. It was ruined slightly by the fact that I was still smiling widely.

"Shut up," he said, punching me in the shoulder. He clutched his stomach he was laughing so hard. "You sound like my old teacher."

"Come on," I grinned. "People want to revel in our presence."

He smiled, a real, wide, crazy Leo smile that was good to see on some guy who a few weeks ago was bordering on mild depression from a _war_. I was beginning to think it had been missing. "And who are we to deprive them of our awesomeness?"

We were welcomed back to the get together with knowing looks and a loudly proclaimed "Percy, I heard you've been having fun without me here," from Thalia. I guessed Thor had told her about some of my times at the tower. I smiled and told everyone to gather around for a short retelling of what had happened. It ended up mostly being told by Tony and Clint, though, since I apparently "dimmed down all of the good parts." Go figure.

_You know, _I thought to myself later, when I was almost asleep in my bed and the tower was still in one piece and I was only slightly missing my friends, _I really should do this more often._

* * *

**A/N: Yep, so for those of you who just looove Leo, this one's for you. Now, of course, this isn't the only chapter with Percy and friends I'm going to do, so don't worry. My finger's better, so I can actually type now! Yay. Anyway, I hope you liked this! Let me know what you thought. Until next time, guys. **


	3. Friend Is a Synonym of Family

**A/N: Yeah, so this one has SPOILERS FOR **_**THE HOUSE OF HADES**_** because the prompt goes a little something like this: Percy has a vivid nightmare, and the team helps him through it. It was from a Guest and I think someone else. I couldn't find who, though, so if it was you, PM me and I'll give you credit! The SPOILERS are mostly just ABOUT WHAT TARTARUS IS LIKE, though. NOTHING PLOTTY. Just in case you don't want to see spoilers. (sorry for shouting)**

**Disclaimer: I don't Percy Jackson or the Avengers. If I did, the Avengers movie would already be out because I'm tired of waiting on it.**

* * *

Friend Is a Synonym of Family

"Perce, adjust your course a little to the left," Tony told me. "You're off."

I nudged Blackjack to the left and took a deep breath. It was a little harder to breathe than usual since the air was so thick with fog. It was like breathing heavy, weighted air. I was a little surprised my powers of water breathing didn't transfer over to breathing clouds, but then, I figured, you can't have it all.

"Almost there?" I asked Tony through the ear piece in my ear.

"Maybe five minutes," he predicted. "Not long."

The Avengers had been given a minor mission by Fury to go check out what was apparently a hole that had been opened up in the middle of the city. SHIELD wasn't sure how it had gotten there, so they sent us in to find out. I wasn't sure if it was godly-related or just crazy-weird-science-related yet, but I had a feeling it would be…interesting to look at, to say the least. I just wished it wasn't such an awful day outside today. It was gray everywhere I looked. Even at around six o'clock in the evening it was still kind of disgusting weather outside.

Besides the fact that it wasn't good weather and terrible for flying, I really hadn't been having a good day. I hadn't gotten much sleep last night for some reason, and it seemed like everything that could go wrong today had done exactly that.

I had dropped a bowl and broken it, which led to the sink exploding since today, apparently, I didn't have a good grasp on my powers. I spilled food all over the kitchen after tripping over my own two feet (still wasn't sure how that happened). And that was only in one hour. The elevator stopped working for ten whole minutes while I was still in it, I fell down a flight of stairs on my way to the gym because I hadn't tied my shoes, and, the icing on the cake, I had completely shattered Tony's gym window when my water-power practice got out of hand and the ice shards went haywire. I was at the end of my rope, big time.

I hoped the mission wouldn't turn out like my day had been going.

"Approaching the site of the massive hole," Steve's voice crackled in my ear. "Start getting lower."

I nudged Blackjack lower cautiously and tried to see through the muggy clouds that were getting me soggy. As I steadily dropped, I felt my eyes widen in surprise when I saw the deep pit.

Blackjack nickered, _Dang, boss! Do you see the size of that thing? _

"Yeah," I said. "What do you think caused that?"

_I don't know, boss, but whatever it is, it ain't good. _

"I second that," I muttered. I saw Tony start to land about twenty feet from the hole with the other Avengers following suit and began to go down, too. Blackjack landed gently and I dismounted, patting him on the neck. "You can just leave," I told him. "It's only about a fifteen jog from here to the tower."

It looked like Blackjack frowned. _Are you sure, boss? _

I grinned. "I think I can manage. Thanks, though." Blackjack snorted, which could have meant anything, and took off with a powerful flap of his wings.

I turned back to my team, who were putting their flying equipment to the side so they can begin looking at the giant pit. I tripped over a nonexistent crack in the road on my way over to the team and sighed heavily. Today really sucked.

At a nod from Steve, we all walked toward the pit, moving around the SHIELD agents that were investigating with us. As soon as they saw us, though, they got out of the way.

I frowned when I saw it. I crept forward cautiously, taking note that I couldn't even see the bottom of the thing in the light of the setting sun. "So what?" I asked, my voice hushed. "It's about, say, forty, forty-five feet? Maybe fifty at the most?"

"It looks like it," Tony confirmed. "JARVIS's sensors can't even pick up that much right now. He's trying to work around the magnetic field that's screwing up the readings. You can take a look real quick if you want."

There was a thought niggling in the back of my head, but I ignored it. I stepped closer to the pit and uncapped Riptide, hoping that maybe it would reveal something hidden or Greek, or at the very least get shed some light on the walls while Tony turned on his flashlights. I guessed the SHIELD agents would have some, but I wanted to know what was in there now.

The walls almost looked blackened, and I knelt down. I felt the sides of the wall and sensed the team shifting behind me.

"Please don't fall in there, kid," Clint murmured. "I really don't wanna go get you."

I nodded in his direction and went back to the cave walls. I scratched at the walls with my sword. I paused, thinking I had an idea. I lay down on my stomach and scooted forward till my arm was over the edge. I patted my hand along the wall until I heard a hollow pinging noise. I smiled in triumph, drawing back and standing up. I went to put the cap back on my sword and that's where it all went downhill.

I missed putting the cap on the tip and instead nicked my fingers. Bright crimson blood immediately pooled up and ran down my knuckles. My first thought was, _I can't believe I just cut myself on my own freaking sword putting it away. _My second thought was that this reminded me of something. That thought that niggled at the back of my head came back full blast.

I looked back down at my hand and inhaled sharply when I saw it was pale and see-through. I closed my eyes, hard, and looked again. It was just a normal hand with normal demigod blood flowing down it. I glanced back at the pit, my eyes wide. I didn't see my team next to me. I wasn't in New York anymore. I was back on the edge of Tartarus, with Annabeth about to be pulled over by spider cobwebs. I stumbled back a step and the vision cleared.

But the damage was already done. I could feel my heart rate quickening and thudding. I felt claustrophobic, like I needed to get out of here, _now_. I took another step back and tried to ignore how the air suddenly reminded me of Tartarus' heavy burning air.

"Percy?" Thor asked, his face filled with concern. "Are you okay?"

I made an aborted move to shake my head and stepped back again. "I just, I need to…I have to," I mumbled, tripping over my words. "I need to go. You don't have to follow," I managed to stutter out. And then I turned and ran out of there.

I sprinted away from the pit as fast as I could, barely hearing the calls my friends made to me let alone answer them. My breath came in sharp bursts, quicker than I was used to in my terrified state. I watched helplessly as the world around me turned in Tartarus, weighing on me. I coughed once and avoided a pedestrian, hoping I was going the right way. I looked to the left and saw the Phlegathon running next to me. I snapped my eyes closed. "It isn't real, it isn't real, it _isn't _real," I repeated over and over again.

I heard phantom sounds of monsters chasing after me and sped up. _But it sure feels real_, my brain said, almost like it was taunting me.

I wasn't sure how I made it back to the tower, but I was happy, at least, for the small miracle of making it back to the tower and not in the bad part of the city. The last thing I needed was to be mugged and accidently take a swing at a mortal with my (to them) nonexistent sword.

I slammed myself into the elevator, breathing heavily. "Sir," JARVIS said, his voice concerned. "Are you alright?"

"I sure hope so," I said breathlessly. Gods, I couldn't _breathe. _

"Sir, I believe I should call the team."

"Really, JARVIS," I gasped. "I'm fine. I just need to go calm down, or something." I paused, still gulping for air. "I'm going sleep in my room, so tell them not to disturb me when they get home."

"If you are quite sure, sir," he said in what seemed like a reluctant tone. I just nodded, too preoccupied with trying to convince my lungs that yes, they were lungs, and that they _needed to start actually working _or else I would collapse from oxygen deprivation. What a wonderful way to go, my brain supplied sarcastically.

I stumbled my way out of the elevator and went straight to my room. I collapsed on my bed. I didn't even bother going to the water because I knew that wouldn't help. It would just remind me of the fire river and of drinking it and blisters and _burning burning burning_.

I closed my eyes tight. _Maybe if I don't look_, I thought desperately, _it won't affect me. _That was shot to Hades when I started _smelling _Tartarus. I would recognize that smell anywhere. I shut my eyes tighter and tried not to think of the gnawing hunger and thirst that had filled me the entire time in Tartarus. I held my stomach tightly and thought, _I'm gonna puke. _

The thing about Tartarus is that demigod brains can't comprehend it very well at all, unless you're a child of Hades. However bad, however awful you think it might be, just know it's much more awful than that. Your tiny brain can't fully grasp the concept of it. It literally drove you insane. Which turns out to be a good thing since the few glances I unfortunately snatched from my time before dying were not pretty. I still had bad dreams about what Tartarus really was. Or, in some cases , flashbacks. Like now.

The thing about Tartarus is that you might leave Tartarus, but it never leaves you. Sure, you escape and you think you're free, but you aren't. Because now, you have to live with seeing it, with seeing all that horror. It might get easier, eventually. But it never, _ever_ leaves you. It will always come back to haunt you. Like now.

The thing about Tartarus is that it isn't really a place at all.

It's a living, breathing, all-powerful thing that wants to kill you. And I think that's the thing that always gets me. The fact that when I'm breathing right now, muffled into my pillow, I can feel the acid air down there. I can still remember Tartarus being as alive as I was. I still remember it perfectly. Of course I do.

I must have panicked my way into a pretty deep, horrific sleep featuring Tartarus because when I woke up, I was screaming.

Immediately, Bruce burst through the door, dressed in his pajamas. I blinked and for a second, I didn't see him. I saw an _arai, _the female spirit of curses, coming to get me, ready to kill me with yet another one of someone's dying curse because they hated me. I shrank back but then blinked again, and Bruce was back, kneeling down in front of me. I saw him talking, but all I heard was the _arai_, trying to convince me to _choose, choose something. _Then I squeezed my eyes shut and heard him. He was saying soothing words that didn't make any sense but washed over me, warming me with peace.

I heard other people sitting down on the bed next to me, and I shuddered. Was it more demons?

_No_, I remembered. _No, it was my friends. Friends. People that would make the demons go away. _

I tried to tell my body to stop shivering and convince my lungs to expand and actually fill up with oxygen for once, but it wouldn't cooperate with me. I felt Bruce sit right next to me and pull me to him. He patted my back, and I felt Natasha start to run her fingers through my hair, grounding me. I saw the others out of the corner of my eyes scoot closer on the bed, putting their hand on my knee, my shoulder. _Déjà vu, _I thought distantly.

_Will you let your friends die?_ I heard Gaea's voice whisper in my mind.

_Go away, _I told it.

After a while, my lungs started acting like lungs again, and I could breathe better. I was still shaking like a leaf and tensed up like a coil.

"It isn't real, Percy," I heard someone say. I was too tired to notice who. "You aren't there anymore."

I nodded my head so whoever it was could know that I heard them and closed my eyes. I relaxed slightly, and I stayed like that for a while. I sighed.

"You know," I mumbled hazily, my voice rough. "Friends are kind of like family."

I heard a _mhmm, _and went on.

"Friend and family. They're synonyms."

And I knew they got it. They always did.

* * *

**A/N: Yeah, so another one of these, for those who wanted it. Thanks for all of your continued support! I really appreciate it. It keeps me writing. So let me know what you thought, and thanks for reading. ***Also, do you guys mind these **_**long**_** chapters, or do you want **_**shorter**_** ones? **


	4. The Awful Luck of Percy Jackson

**A/N: This isn't my favorite thing at all. I turned a perfect good prompt into an awful one. I couldn't find who gave this to me (I searched for thirty minutes), so if you did please let me know! I'll give you credit and everything. Thank you for your continued support!**

**Disclaimer: I'm pretty sure Marvel and Rick Riordan don't write stuff like this, so it's definitely not mine…**

* * *

The Awful Luck of Percy Jackson

It happened about a week after I woke up in the hospital at Avengers Tower, right after the giant fight with Coeus.

I still got tired pretty easily, which was frustrating, and the team and Annabeth—when she came to visit me at the tower—insisted that I rest all day and not do anything "strenuous." I swear, if exhaustion didn't kill me, then the boredom would. ADHD kids like me didn't go well with situations like this. And, to make it slightly more unbearable, the team was sticking a little closer than usual to me. I guessed it was because I had almost died on top of a building all by myself. That tended to do things to people.

I knew they meant well, and I appreciated that they cared so much. I just needed some space, like all teenagers eventually did.

To get back to the point, I felt suffocated in the tower. It was gods-awful being mother-henned by one person let alone _six_. Finally, I couldn't stand it any longer. I told them I was going for a walk, to which the following conversation happened:

Tony: A walk? Why?

Bruce: It's too strenuous.

Steve: I agree with Bruce.

Me: I need to get out of this tower. Like, now. I need some fresh air.

Natasha: What's wrong with this tower?

Me: I'm going stir-crazy.

Bruce: I guess we can't stop you. But my doctor instincts are telling you no.

Clint: Just bring your phone.

Tony: We'll check in every twenty minutes.

Thor: Have a nice walk, Percy. It is a beautiful day outside.

Natasha: Please try not to hurt yourself. You're just getting better.

And so I got to go for a walk. Granted, they checked in every ten minutes instead of twenty minutes, but I didn't blame them for that. Their little bird had just left the nest for at least an hour, and they were probably worried I'd blow up a building or something on my walk. The sad thing was it wasn't even that far off of an assumption seeing as I was about as trouble-prone as a person could get.

The thing I was talking about earlier happened while I was on said walk, which just further justifies the theory of my accident-proneness. It was a nice day out, and the sun was winking at me brightly. I had walked for maybe fifteen minutes (which was interrupted by an _Are you still alive and uninjured? _call from Tony and the others) before I felt tired. I sighed in frustration and started looking for some kind of park bench around for me to sit on. It was a little crowded around the one area I was going for with a lovely bench, of course, so I pushed through the throng, muttering "excuse me" every five seconds.

I bumped into someone hard and bounced off a few inches. "Oh, gosh, I'm…" I trailed off, looking up at who I had just essentially slammed into. "Sorry," I finished lamely.

"Oh, no," the tall man said, "the fault was mine."

"Loki," I said unenthusiastically. "I was wondering when you'd show up."

"Were you?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. He was dressed in some dark jeans and a nice shirt. It was weird seeing him in regular clothes. Loki didn't seem to mind, though, since he seemed just as confident wearing that instead of Asgardian armor.

"Yes," I said, pushing past him to the bench. Standing up was _hard_.

He, unfortunately, followed me. I sighed as I sat down, partly because it felt good to take a rest, and partly because I really didn't want to bother with Loki right now. He sat down next to me and smirked.

"Oh how far they fall," he said sardonically. "The great Perseus Jackson getting tired from a fifteen minute _walk_."

I rolled my eyes. "What do you want, Loki," I said, ignoring the jibe. "If it's to talk about Coeus then no, I don't feel like it."

"Why do you think I came here?" he asked, his voice actually sounding genuinely curious.

"Let me guess," I said, "you want to talk about you helping me or something? I don't know, what?"

"If humans used their full capacity of brain power, they'd be a much more intelligent species."

"You know, I can totally see why you and Thor have brother problems," I snapped. I was tired, I was out of breath, and I didn't have the freaking _energy _to talk in circles with Loki. "You get on my nerves, and I'm not even related to you."

"Thor is not my brother," Loki said stiffly.

"Oh, gods, this again? Really?" I huffed. In all reality, gods were just as clueless as humans were sometimes. "You're brothers because you love each other and you're close. I don't care if you crush his heart into smithereens, which you already have. You're family. He loves you." I shook my head. "You can't give up on family."

"How sentimental," Loki sneered.

"Listen," I said firmly. I was starting to really regret taking this walk. Not only did I meet someone I _really _didn't want to talk to, but I was about to fall asleep where I was sitting on this bench. "I'm really tired of you whining about this. He's your brother. Period. I know you care about him." I paused to rub at a headache that started to blossom in my temples. "Gods know you have enough sibling rivalries for a psychologist to have a field day with you two, but stop acting like he isn't your brother."

Loki looked a little shocked that I had the nerve to tell him any of that, and frankly, I would have been, too, if I wasn't so tired. "If you came here to talk about me not telling anyone else you helped us, my lips are sealed. I really don't care."

"I—," Loki seemed taken aback that I had so quickly changed topics. "I mean, yes, do not tell anyone of our meetings. You will regret it if you do."

"Save the threats for when I'm awake enough to respond to them or at least look like they terrified me for your ego," I said dismissively. I stood up from the bench and began to walk away.

"You know," Loki said as he met me by my side, not done with annoying me, "I do believe I like this version of you better than the boring, perfect one."

"You aren't the only green-eyed trickster," I said dryly. "And if it means anything to you, thanks for helping us out with the Coeus problem."

He opened his mouth to respond but was interrupted by the "Part of Your World" song from _The Little Mermaid. _"Look at this stuff, isn't it neat? Wouldn't you think my collection's complete?" it sang loudly as Loki frowned at the phone. I answered it, acting like it was normal to have one's ringtone set to Disney theme songs.

"Hello?" I said into the receiver.

"Hi," Steve said, sounding vaguely pleased. "Are you doing okay?"

"I'm fine," I said, smiling. I had a feeling Steve had dialed my number and everything all on his own; he must have been proud of himself for that. "I'm just a little tired. Oh, and some guy called Loki just came up and started randomly talking to me."

I heard fumbling and then Steve's voice came back. "Please tell me you're joking."

"No, I really am tired from walking for ten minutes," I said.

I heard loud yelling in the background and smothered a grin. "Loki is there?" I heard Thor ask in his normal booming voice.

I heard the phone being taken into someone else's hands. "You do know we're supposed to arrest him on sight and bring him to Fury?" Tony sighed.

"I think we all know I can't catch anything right now, let alone Loki," I pointed out. "Besides, he didn't strictly do anything bad except attempt to threaten me."

"There will be more trouble in the future," Loki warned next to me, his eyes flashing from my "attempt to threaten me" comment. I placed my hand over the phone and looked at him.

"What? Are you kidding me? We literally just fought a titan," I protested.

"No rest for the weary," Loki mocked, grinning nastily.

"What kind of trouble?" I demanded, my head feeling a little clearer since there was danger.

"You and your little _team _are intelligent, aren't you?" Loki asked, making the word _team _sound like a disease. "I'm sure you can figure it out."

"Are you—" I cut myself off by swearing violently, drawing a few scandalized looks from passerby. Loki had vanished. Again. The last thing I saw was a smile like a Cheshire cat's from him. I shook my head and resumed my walk back to the tower again. I thought about my bed and sighed wistfully. I still had ten minutes to go.

Some things never changed. The awful luck of Percy Jackson being one of them.

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**A/N: So, like I said, I didn't like this. I rewrote it three times, and I still couldn't get it. I kind of experimented a little with the format (in the beginning) because I was inspired by the amazing John Green. Let's hope for a better next chapter! You guys are all awesome, and I'm not sure what I'd do without your wonderful reviews. :)**


	5. The Avengers Learn What Heaven Is Like

**A/N: I know how late this is, but I really do have a good explanation for it! One, computer problems (again). Two, I've had something to do the past two Saturdays and Sundays all day long, so no time to write (which drove me insane). But I'm back! And less busy. So here. :)**

**Credit for this one-shot goes to wisdomgirl0924 and Felidaes' Tale. Thank you guys!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson or the Avengers. Or Finding Nemo.**

In Which the Avengers Learn What Heaven Is Like

"Yeah, Mom. Sure. Okay, I will." Tony looked up as Percy walked into the living room where the rest of the team was hanging out. Percy smiled at them quickly, then concentrated back on what his mom was saying. "Today? Sure, I'm not doing anything." Percy frowned. "Really? If you're up to it." He told his mom bye and hung up.

Tony and the others looked expectantly at him. That hadn't sounded like one of Percy's regular calls to his mom, Tony mused. Not necessarily bad or anything, just not the usual.

"What's up?" Clint asked.

"I'm going see my mom today," Percy said, flopping down on the couch in between Steve and Bruce. "I haven't been over in forever, and I think she misses me."

Natasha nodded. "Yeah, I could imagine that. When are you leaving?"

Percy grinned. "Actually, it might not just be me leaving, if that's alright with you guys."

"What do you mean?" Tony asked, his eyebrow raised.

"See, my mom wants to meet you guys," Percy said. "If you guys want to come visit with me for a while, you can."

Thor smiled. "I would very much like to meet your mother."

"I don't have a problem with it," Bruce said, shrugging.

"But there's one problem," Percy said, holding up a finger. "We'll have to go the back way. I don't want to bring any monsters or whatever to my mom's apartment with just her and Paul."

"No problem kid, kid," Tony said. He stretched his back and sighed as he heard it crack. This must have been one of the old people down sides or something, he thought distractedly before standing up.

"I know," Percy agreed. "Anyway, I'm leaving in about half an hour. That enough time to get ready?"

"Plenty," Clint said. "We'll meet in here at around twelve o'clock. Sound okay?"

"Yep," Percy said cheerily before walking off to his room to get who-knew-what together.

The Avengers walked back in the room at twelve o'clock wearing hats and sunglasses with beat up jackets and some casual shirts and jeans. Percy had assured them no one would recognize them going the back way since there wasn't anyone on that route, so they were fine dressing casual like this.

Percy clapped his hands together. "You guys ready to go?"

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Tony wondered what Percy's mom and step dad were like.

Tony guessed Percy's mom had to have the patience of a saint. He wasn't being rude, but having an ADHD kid and being a single mom wasn't the easiest job in the world. In fact, it had to be pretty freaking hard. Of course, Percy was a really sweet kid from what he and the team had observed (obviously) and never caused trouble on purpose. The lady had a lot of love to give if she raised a kid like Percy, and Tony had a really good feeling about this meeting. He had a feeling the rest of the team did, too.

"So, this whole 'back way' thing is a little shady and all, but it isn't too bad," Percy said as he picked his way across a back alley littered with all kinds of trash. "But you know, I want to protect my mom and Paul." Percy smiled and practically bounced his way over a rotten bag of food and _gracefully _danced his way around a dead rat that looked as if it had been on steroids. Tony shuddered as he gave the thing a wide berth and heard Steve and a few others chuckle behind him at Percy's enthusiasm.

They finally reached the back door of the building, and Percy wrenched it open on its rusty hinges. Tony was glad to leave the slimy alley behind, at least for now. "This thing isn't usually unlocked, but my mom will come open it on the days I come and see her," Percy explained. Tony and the others followed as he flounced up the stairs and knocked cheerily on the door.

The door opened quickly, and Tony didn't even get the chance to see the woman before Percy was enveloping her tightly in a hug. Tony heard a muttered _that's really sweet _from Natasha and had to agree, manly tendencies or no. You had to be an emotionless rock not to feel even a _smidgen _of feeling from seeing that. And Tony actually _did _have feelings, contrary to popular belief.

Percy pulled back after a minute, and when he turned to the Avengers, he was grinning from ear to ear. He was completely relaxed. "Guys, this is my mom, Sally Jackson. Mom, this is the team." As he introduced them each individually, Tony took the time to observe his mom.

She was a very pretty lady. She was aging, but Tony couldn't really tell. She had long brown hair with a few gray streaks in it, but it didn't make her look old. Her eyes crinkled softly around the edges, like she smiled a lot, and they changed colors in the light. Tony knew he would instantly like her. When she looked at them, her eyes weren't calculating or assessing, but welcoming. Tony could count on one hand how many people had done that and still have fingers left over.

"Hi," she said warmly. "Why don't you come inside? I've made—"

"Blue chocolate-chip cookies," Percy finished, smelling the air. He turned to his mom, his eyes gleaming like a little kid's eyes. "Mom, you're the best ever."

Sally Jackson huffed a laugh and ruffled Percy's hair. "Go in and get one. I know you can't stand to wait. Just leave some for your friends, alright?"

Percy mumbled something that could have either been "okay fine" or "no promises" before nearly sprinting to the kitchen. Sally rolled her eyes fondly and ushered the team inside the apartment and into the kitchen. A man that Tony assumed was Paul was sitting at the table. He glanced up at Tony and the others and smiled. He had salt-and-pepper hair and kind eyes. Percy glanced his shoulder at the team where he had already inhaled two cookies.

"Guys," he said, "you _have _to try this. It's heaven."

"Well, I don't know if it's literally heaven, Percy," Sally teased. "Besides, you're a little biased."

"Mom, this couldn't be more like heaven if a piece of heaven fell down into this cookie dough." Percy turned back to them. "Are you gonna come try some or not?"

The team obediently trotted over after some casual introductions and handshakes. Percy shoved a cookie into each of their hands and looked expectantly at them. "Why are they blue?" Tony asked curiously.

"It's a tradition," Percy said. "Kind of a long story, but now my mom makes everything she can blue."

"That's quite interesting," Thor said thoughtfully. "I did not know Midgardians were able to change the color of their foods."

"Okay, now try it," Percy urged.

Tony bit into it and thought he had died and gone to heaven.

"Oh my gosh," he moaned. "This isn't a cookie. This is heaven. I am literally biting into heaven." Tony took another bite and felt his mouth water. "I swear I just died."

Percy grinned. "People usually have that reaction."

"These are amazing, ma'am," Steve said politely, but his eyes were wide and shining. The rest of the team had similar facial expressions. Thor, it seemed, liked these much better than pop tarts.

Sally blushed. "Thank you. Percy always loves them so I thought I'd make enough for an army, just in case. Besides, if worst came to worst, I knew Percy could eat them all by himself, anyway."

"Couldn't anyone?" Percy pointed out.

Sally shook her head and smiled. "Why don't we go into the living room? We can talk in there. It's more comfortable."

Tony and the others followed her into the living room. Just as Tony was about to sit down, something caught his eye. A grin lit up his face as he walked over to it. "Oh my gosh," he said. "This is the best thing ever." He picked it up to get a better look at it.

The team came and peered over Tony's shoulder to see what he was looking at and giggled.

"Can I have a copy of this?" Clint asked. "We need some blackmail for the poor kid."

"Have a copy of what?" Percy asked, looking up from the cookies. His face turned red. "Oh gods, not that. No you cannot."

Tony turned back to the picture he held in his hands. It had been taken at the beach. A kid with black hair and bright green eyes beamed up at the camera, missing at least three of his teeth. He was covered in sand and had on swim trunks with Nemo and friends on it. He clutched a seahorse and a fish toy in either hand. Even in the picture Tony could tell that the water seemed to hold the child like an embrace. Like it was holding a certain son of the god of the sea.

"This is the cutest thing I've ever seen," Natasha declared and snatched the picture from Tony. "I didn't know you were this cute when you were little, Percy." Tony saw the others stifle a snort out of the corner of his eye and tried to cover up his own.

"I've got more pictures I could take out of Percy as a baby if you want," Sally suggested innocently.

"Mom!" Percy exclaimed, scandalized.

"Fine, fine," she said, her hands up in surrender.

Natasha handed the picture back to Tony, who reluctantly put it back on the shelf. He was so totally coming back for that later.

They sat down and started to talk about themselves. It wasn't much, what they told her and Paul, but it was the most honest they'd ever been with a complete stranger. Sally was easy to talk to, and she had a kind, open face that made Tony feel like he could tell her anything and she would care. No wonder Percy turned out to be such a good kid.

Before Tony knew it, four hours had passed by. It was about time to go, but Tony could tell Percy didn't want to leave quite yet. Tony wouldn't force him to go, and besides, the kid rarely got to see his mom. Tony wasn't going to take the kid away from something like this anyway. He was the only one on the team who regularly kept up with his family by his own choice, and Tony and the team had on more than one occasion said that it was important to make sure he got enough time to see his family. It was obvious how much Percy loved his mom and vice versa. Tony would stay here all night if it meant giving them time to catch up.

It also wasn't like Tony was going to complain, either. This lady had made _heavenly _cookies. Tony couldn't let those go to waste.

Bruce leaned over to Tony when Percy and his mom were talking and said, "I'm pretty sure the Other Guy would smash a whole country just to get some of these." Clint overheard Bruce and snickered.

"Only a country?" Tony asked. Bruce rolled his eyes, but Tony knew he was trying not to smile. He was just really good at hiding it.

After a while, Percy stood up. "Well, we should probably go before it gets dark," he said apologetically to his mom.

Sally stood up and hugged her son warmly. "Of course. I love you. Stay safe, okay?"

"Okay," he mumbled. "Love you, too." He pulled away. He shook Paul's hand and began gathering all the leftover chocolate chips in a bag while the team told Sally and Paul goodbye.

"Thank you very much for everything," Tony said, shaking Sally's hand.

"You make amazing cookies," Clint said.

"Percy is a wonderful person, and we absolutely love having him around," Natasha said, smiling in that way all women do when they compliment the other woman's child. Tony had noticed it all the time and had only seen Natasha do it three times, not counting this time. "You've done a great job raising him."

"He's a great kid, even if he doesn't think so himself," Sally agreed, her eyes twinkling. "I appreciate you all helping him. Sometimes, he's too strong for his own good."

"He helped us, too, in all fairness," Bruce put in, adjusting his glasses.

"Watch out for him, please," Sally said, a strange look in her eyes. And Tony realized how hard it must have been to watch your kid get hurt and almost die and save the world over and over again and know that was what he was born to do. Sally Jackson was a strong woman for sure. "He needs it because he's too busy watching out for everyone else to think about himself."

"Of course, Lady Sally," Thor said kindly.

"We always do," Steve promised.

"I'm going to eat all the cookies if you guys don't hurry up," Percy warned from the other room.

Sally waved us off. "He is serious, so you might want to go," she chuckled.

"Thank you again," Tony said. "But remember, we really do need that picture one day. We were serious about the blackmail." The team walked out to the sound of her pleasant laughter.

On the way home, Tony turned to Percy. "You know, kid, you've got an awesome mom."

"I know," he said simply, smiling.

And that was how the Avengers learned what heaven was like. Through Sally Jackson's blue chocolate-chip cookies.

**A/N: So, that's it. In good news, I've thought of a new one-shot (separate from The Art of Team Bonding) to write up, so maybe I'll have that out in a week or two. I think it's gonna be called Claustrophobia or something. Also, remember SOPA is still going on, so if you can, sign the petition. Any more prompts you guys want? Just let me know via reviews my dears. ;) Thank you all for your support.**


	6. Wrong

**A/N: Alrighty, so this is a prompt from candyland7, who said they wanted the team's point of view of the roof scene. But since that was a little short, I decided to include the phone call, too. This is basically a redo of Chapters 28 and 29 in _The Art of Finding Yourself_, if you would like to go reread them, but you don't necessarily have to. (Caution: it has kind of a lot of errors in it that I _will_ be going back to fix later.) This has the exact dialogue of those chapters, just from Tony's POV. Enjoy, lads.**

**Disclaimer: I do not and probably never will own either the Avengers or Percy Jackson.**

* * *

Wrong

"Hey."

Tony's stomach dropped when he heard Percy's weak voice on the other side of the line. He heard Percy repeat himself, this time stronger than before. "Hey."

"Guys," Tony called to the others, his voice sounding a little strained. "I got him!" The team quickly rushed into the room. Tony went and sat down on the couch, and the Avengers sat all around him on the couch and on the coffee table. He put the phone on speaker and held it out in the middle of the group. "Percy," he said.

"Hey," Percy said again, his voice sounding weird. It sounded almost like it was windy where he was.

"Where are you right now?" Steve asked, his voice urgent. He leaned closer to the phone, his forehead creasing with worry. "How did you escape from that cell? What are you doing?"

"I'm with Blackjack," Percy said quickly, his voice still sounding odd. Well, that explained the wind. Tony knew he wasn't the only one who noticed because he saw everyone else's face scrunch up in confusion. Tony just couldn't put his finger on what it was. "And I had help with the escaping thing. Is this phone call secure?" Tony frowned. Why would he ask that?

"Yeah, it's secure. Percy, what's going on?" Tony asked. Something wasn't right about this whole situation, and the unease in his stomach from when Percy had first been captured and thrown in a cell wasn't going away.

"Nothing," he said. Percy went on to explain what had happened very vaguely before pausing. "And that's it," he finished. Tony thought his voice sounded a little thicker than usual.

"Why are you with Blackjack?" Natasha asked suspiciously.

"I…uh. Um," Percy faltered. And suddenly, it clicked for the Avengers all at once, and Tony could do no more than stare at the phone in shock. Surely Percy wasn't going to do what he thought, right?

"Percy, please don't tell me you're doing what I think you're doing," Clint said, his voice layered with thinly veiled horror and shock.

"I have to do this," Percy said softly.

"You can't do this by yourself," Bruce tried, a touch desperately.

"The way my plan is supposed to go is that it'll work perfect for you guys and everybody else," he said.

"Us and everybody else," Thor said, voicing Tony's thoughts. "And what of you, Percy?" Tony's heart sank, and his stomach started churning. He knew what the answer would be.

Percy sighed. "What about me?"

Tony couldn't keep quiet any longer. "What do you mean 'what about me'?" Tony demanded. He was met with a deafening silence. "Percy, no," he said, his voice quiet and pleading. "No."

"I have to," Percy said plaintively. "I'm the only one who can."

"Bull," challenged Natasha, her voice empty of emotion. "We can help you." Tony thought there was an unspoken "please" at the end of the sentence, but knew he could hear it only because he knew her so well.

"You really can't," he said, sounding not really defeated, but resigned.

"This is a suicide mission!" Steve finally burst out. He had finally voiced what this really was. Percy meant this to be his last hurrah, and Tony knew it. "You can't expect us to just let you die, Percy! You're a part of this team just as much as we are." Steve's eyes were opened wide, and Tony realized just how young Steve was and, by comparison, Percy. Percy was just a kid, even if he was legally an adult at eighteen. And from what Percy had told them, he had never gotten to fully experience the glory of awkward teenage years normally. Percy was almost like the little brother the team had never had, and they wanted to protect him like older brothers and an older sister were supposed to.

Tony just couldn't imagine how lonely the tower would be without Percy around, and he never wanted to find out.

"Listen," Percy said determinedly, "I'm pretty sure everything in a half block might be wiped out. If you're there, you'll die, too. What's more important: me or the Avengers?" Tony wasn't sure what was the most heart-breaking thing in _that _particular statement. Was it the fact that he thought he was unimportant or that he was determined to save the world so bad he was willing to get himself killed?

"We are both of equal importance," Thor said. "One human life is not of more importance than another merely because of fame or power."

"I'm sure SHIELD would have something to say about that statement," Percy said, huffing a breath of amusement.

"Is that why you're doing this?" Bruce asked. "Because of SHIELD? You know we don't believe what they said about you being a spy, don't you?"

There was a beat of silence on the other end of the line for a few moments. "Really?"

"Of course," Clint replied with complete conviction. "Sure, it surprised us for a second too long to do something about it, but it was literally impossible that you were the spy." Plus, Tony knew Percy wasn't that good of a liar to fool Natasha. Nobody on the team could do that, and Percy could barely lie good let alone on a large scale like hiding your entire personality and working for an evil titan. It was impossible for him to have created a lie as big as the one he was accused of.

"Good," Percy said, sounding relieved. "I was really, really hoping you'd say that."

"Percy," Tony began urgently, "you don't have to do this because SHIELD told you to do this. We can help you."

The others thought Percy had hung up on accident before he finally answered. "Guys, I wasn't lying before. You really can't help me. And I'm not doing this because SHIELD told me to."

Tony wasn't really sure what to say to that, and he could tell the other Avengers weren't sure, either. It was almost like his arc reactor wasn't working because he felt like he wasn't getting enough air, even though Tony knew his reactor was in perfect condition.

"You know," Percy said, his voice wavering slightly, "the spy was Smart." Percy's chuckle sounded strained. "We really should've seen that one." Percy breathed once and let it out slowly, like he was trying to control himself. Tony unconsciously gripped the phone harder as they all leaned in more. "Guys, I want you to know why I'm doing this," Percy said. He took another shaky breath. "This is my responsibility to fix. It's my problem."

"Percy—" Steve started. Tony looked up and saw Steve's pained face.

Percy talked over him. "No, really, this is my job. Coeus had _my_ blood, he wants _my _power, and I'm the only one who knows how to stop him. I'm the only one who can. If anyone else tried, they would die." _Like you're going to if you don't stop! _Tony wanted to shout.

Clint laughed humorlessly. "Percy, you must have the single most messed up logic I've ever heard of." The team shook their heads at Percy.

"The plan's so stupid that Coeus would never expect it. He's smart, so I have to be stupid," Percy reasoned. Tony could imagine him smiling at that thought.

"I swear you have a complex," Natasha said. Tony noticed that cracks were appearing in her careful mask and couldn't help but feel slightly helpless.

Tony heard Percy tell Blackjack to bring him down to a roof and felt his breaths quicken. Was Percy leaving now? Tony heard the soft landing and breathed a little easier when he didn't hear the dial tone.

Percy breathed once again and began to talk. "I wanted to thank you. Um, I wanted to thank you for everything you've done for me in the past few days. I was, uh, a—a wreck when I first got to the tower, and you fixed me." Percy sniffled and laughed wetly, and Tony felt his heart completely rip in half. "Which, by the way, was pretty awesome since I was pretty positive I was a hopeless case. So, thank you. Really." Tony breathed deeply and bit his lip. He couldn't help but think how this couldn't be happening, _shouldn't _be happening. Tony ducked his head. He didn't want to see his friends slowly breaking like he was.

"Uh, you guys probably didn't realize how bad off I was. I won't go into details or anything, but I'm pretty sure what you managed to do to me was a miracle," Percy said, a touch of vehemence coloring his voice. "And it wasn't just that. I swear I wasn't just using you for your awesome food, either." That drew a reluctant laugh out of them. Tony thought it was almost like the laugh didn't wasn't to escape his mouth; it wanted to stay caught in his throat. "It was the friendship. It was your help. It was the team atmosphere and the family stuff and whatever other gushy stuff you can think of. It was _everything. _I, uh." Tony closed his eyes tightly when Percy paused. His eyes were _not _watering. At all.

"I'm just really going to miss you guys," Percy said, his voice cracking on the last word, and with that, Tony's heart shattered. "So, yeah. I-I just—I wanted to—yeah, s-so um, thanks."

And _God_, kids weren't supposed to sound like this. Kids weren't _supposed_ to have to say goodbye let alone when they weren't ready to in the first place. They weren't _supposed_ to thank people for helping them when they had horrible breakdowns from stress and evil, destructive pits that drove people insane. They weren't _supposed_ to say thank you for people being there for when they had horrible nightmares and panic attacks and everything else. The people that loved the kids weren't supposed to have to listen to them say goodbye. They weren't supposed to _listen _to the kid's heart breaking and this was all so _wrong. Wrong, wrong, wrong._

Tony finally sighed. "Kid, it wasn't just one-sided. But you're welcome." Because what else were you supposed to do when someone told you thank you like that?

Percy's voice took on a more urgent tone. "Guys, I—I need you to tell Annabeth and my friends and my mom and Paul bye for me. I don't—I can't. I don't have enough time."

"Percy, you aren't going to die," Natasha said firmly. "We won't let you. We will track your position and keep him from killing you, but you aren't going to die."

"Indeed," Thor agreed. "This is not your final battle. Who else would spar with me?" A few of the team opened their mouths to say something else when Percy started quickly.

"It's not like I want to die," Percy said defensively. "I _don't_ want to die! It's just…inevitable. And he's not actually going to kill me, really." Tony frowned at that, but his musings were interrupted by Bruce.

"We're coming to help you, Percy," Bruce's tone brooked no argument, and Tony finally glanced up to catch the resolve on Bruce's face. "Whether you like it or not. Whether he's going to kill you or not. And you aren't dying either."

Tony heard a huge _boom-crash _from the other side of the phone, and he felt his stomach take a nose dive. "Listen I have to go." Percy sounded nervous. "I'm sorry. Make sure you tell them goodbye. And that I'm sorry."

"Percy—" they protested.

"I'm sorry," he said again, and the dial tone interrupted everything else they had to say.

"_God_," Tony said, rubbing his face. He stayed there for a moment, just a fraction of a second to gather himself after _that _particular situation. Then, he stood up quickly. "JARVIS, I need you to—"

"I'm already tracking his position, sir," JARVIS replied before Tony was finished. "However, the energy levels are fluctuating, and it is scrambling the signal. It could take a little longer to lock on his coordinates."

"That's alright, J, work as quick as you can." Tony looked at the others. "Let's get suited up."

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

"Sir, I believe I have a definite lock, but it does not seem to be matching up with the energy fluctuations' position," JARVIS said.

Tony rolled his eyes in frustration and tapped a finger on his suit from where he was hovering in the air. "Guys, it looks like Percy threw his phone somewhere so we wouldn't know where he was going," he said to the Avengers below through the comm. link.

"Well, with a boom like that, he couldn't have been very far off from where he was going," Clint reasoned.

"It could be anywhere from five to ten miles away from him," Bruce suggested.

"Sir, there seems to be a source of the energy spikes, but it is quickly diminishing," JARVIS said, his voice sounding a little perplexed. "Would you like me to give you those coordinates instead of the cell phone readings?"

"Yeah," Tony said. "Gimme those. If Percy's ever anywhere, it's in the middle of the chaos."

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

It turned out Tony was right about Percy being at the center of the chaos. It's just that he really wished he wasn't, for once.

When they finally got up on the roof after what seemed like ages, Tony's face drained of all blood. "No!" he shouted. "Percy!"

The Avengers rushed to the body lying on the roof that was bloodied, bruised, and pale and kneeled down. They ignored the charred body a few feet from him that was obviously Coeus. Tony wasn't sure what had happened to him, but at least he was gone. But it was a small consolation prize if Percy was gone, too. Percy was still breathing, but it was a slow rise and fall, and Tony could tell he was having trouble. Bruce pushed them gently aside and turned Percy's head toward them.

Percy's eyes fluttered open and rested on them. He tilted the corners of his mouth up in a parody of a smile since he must have been too exhausted to smile for real. "Percy," Bruce said. "Can you hear me? Hey, stay awake, okay?"

Tony saw a small crease appear in between Percy's eyebrows, like he was concentrating, then his eyelids drooped and finally closed. Bruce shook Percy gently. "Percy, wake up."

"No," Tony said. He heard Steve and the others catch their breath in shock behind him. He leaned forward to put a hand on Percy's shoulder. "Kid, wake up." But Percy's body sagged, and he went completely lax, his face slack. "Don't you dare," Tony said, but Percy couldn't hear him.

Tony bent his head and breathed deeply. His ears buzzed so he couldn't hear Bruce talking to Percy or see him feeling for a pulse. He couldn't hear the heavy breathing of his teammates. He couldn't see their masks crumbling down like faulty walls. And he couldn't see Percy's still body.

It was all just wrong.

* * *

**A/N: And on that cheerful note, I've got a question about the next chapter. Do you guys want a POV of the team of the hospital scene and stuff (not Percy flat lining, just him waking up and on), or do you want a Blackjack reunion thing first? It might make more sense if you chose the first option, but it's your choice. Thanks for reading, and tell me what you thought!**


	7. The Side Effects of Percy Jackson

**A/N: I know this is late, but it's pretty long. Also, instead of just the hospital scene, I decided to do Percy flat lining, too, since so many people requested it. I hope you enjoy! Some news at the bottom, if you want to read it.**

**If you want to read this chapter from Percy's POV, it's Chapter 30 in **_**The Art of Finding Yourself. **_

**Disclaimer: Rick and Marvel aren't usually late on their updates, so I definitely don't own Percy Jackson or the Avengers. Although, Spider-Man could come out a little sooner than they have it to make me happy…**

* * *

The Side Effects of Percy Jackson

"How in the world are we supposed to treat him?" Clint asked in exasperation. He knew he was really worried underneath it all, but he couldn't help it. Percy was dying on the stupid operation table, and Clint wasn't even sure if they could help the kid.

"We definitely can't use the ambrosia and nectar stuff," Bruce said, smoothly attaching Percy to a cannula and a breathing machine to assist Percy. Bruce began to cut off Percy's shirt with silver scissors. Clint watched as they glinted in the light. "We can do water for sure, and I can do what I can for him like I would normally. I need to scan him first."

Suddenly, Clint was really, really glad for the new medical technology Bruce and Tony had made last summer to make it easier to do a full body scan without actually giving the patient an x-ray or something like that. It was quicker and much more efficient, which was two things they needed right now.

Bruce attached more instruments to Percy and suddenly, a slow, steady beat started sounding through the room. Bruce shook his head. "His heart rate's too slow. Way too slow. His blood pressure dangerously low, too." He sighed, and Clint thought he looked older than usual rubbing his eyes under his glasses. "It's better to act now when we're halfway sure than to wait until we're positive and it be too late. Thor, Steve, get some water. A lot of it. Tony, get out the bandages. Natasha and Clint, help me stop the bleeding for now and grab some disinfectant and anything else he'll need. You know what kind; you've had enough experience. And do it quickly."

Everyone rushed around in a flurry of movement, grabbing this and that in an odd dance around each other. Clint tried not to look at how still Percy looked or how pale or how his bags under his eyes stuck out a dark plum color or how he wasn't supposed to look so bruised and battered. He didn't notice what he was grabbing, but he knew whatever it was, it was the right thing. It was by instinct he grabbed it. Bruce had been spot on when he had said he and Tasha had experience: it came with the job.

Clint brought the supplies over to the table Bruce had set up right next to Percy and carefully set them down. Bruce was washing his hands with a special disinfectant soap, and when he was done, he gestured to the sink with his head. "You guys wash up. I'll get to work."

Just as Clint, Natasha, and Tony were finishing up, Steve and Thor came back with the water. They set down the four huge buckets next to Percy's bed and went and washed up, too.

"Hey, Clint, hand me that antibiotic over there," Bruce said. "And back up a little, guys. Steve, you might want to tell Fury."

Steve pulled out his phone and started towards the door. "I'm sure he already knows," he said, a touch of bitterness layered in his tone.

Clint quietly agreed with Steve and reached over to grab the correct spray only to knock it over as soon as he touched it in his surprise. He whipped his head back around and felt his breath stop. A shrill, constant noise was filling the air in the room. Bruce cursed fluently, and Clint wasn't sure if it was English or Arabic. "He's flat lining!" Bruce exclaimed. Steve stuffed the phone back in his pocket and hurriedly grabbed the water as the others rushed nearer to the bed. Clint kept slightly out of the way as Steve carefully poured water over Percy.

The team watched anxiously for a few moments. "It's not doing anything," Natasha said, her voice strained.

"I'm going to have to shock him," Bruce said grimly. "Watch out."

Clint backed away half in shock as Bruce prepped Percy. "Clear," Bruce murmured. Clint blinked in shock.

"Come on, kid," Steve said quietly, like a prayer.

The team let out a collective breath as Steve's prayer seemed to be answered. They heard the regular beating of the heart again, faint and slow, but still there.

"We need to move quicker," Tony said, grabbing a needle and thread before turning to Bruce. I've got steady hands. Clean the wound, and I'll stitch the bad one. You can check the ribs. They look busted." Bruce nodded.

"You guys are in charge of keeping him wet. Let me know it it's working whatsoever," Bruce said. Steve left to get towels and rags, and Clint stepped closer to peer down at the scratches on him that were still oozing blood slightly. His eyes widened when he saw them slowly beginning to close up and heal. "Small abrasions closing up as we speak," he reported.

"That's good," Bruce said as he checked Percy's ribs while Tony sewed up the long gash that wasn't healing on Percy's arm. "God, there's gotta be at least four broken ribs with another couple fractured or cracked. I wouldn't be surprised if one of them punctured a lung or something."

"What of his internal organs?" Thor asked, squinting at an area near Percy's heart. "After taking on so much energy and then using it, Percy is sure to have damage or overheating within him."

"What do you mean 'taking on so much energy,' Thor?" Natasha asked, swiveling her head slowly to look at Thor. "How do you know he took energy from something?"

Thor frowned. "His face shows signs of monumental strain. If Percy was only using his own power, he would never have charred Coeus' body in such a way. No, he had to absorb power from Coeus and then give it back forcefully to Coeus," Thor said, moving his hands in a violent shoving motion, starting from his chest and moving outward.

"I can't imagine the strain done to his heart and muscles," Bruce muttered. "Get some more water on him."

The silence went on for quite some time. Tony finished off his neat stitches with a tidy knot and snipped off the extra thread. He mumbled something about needing to improve his StarkStitches before setting the thread down on the table. Clint placed another wet towel next to Percy's ribs. The ribs weren't as swollen as earlier and looked a shade lighter, but Clint thought it still looked like someone had run over him with a bulldozer. Percy looked impossibly pale, and Clint watched with a tinge of sadness as Natasha absently brushed a stray piece of hair off Percy's face. This poor kid didn't deserve to die, and Clint couldn't help but think how unfair it was to have his life taken away from him just as he was beginning to learn to live again.

Suddenly, Bruce cursed violently again. "He's flat lining again!" He scrambled around to the other side of the bed and grabbed a syringe. "It's the internal damage that's slowly killing him, so I'm going to need to just insert water into his circulatory system. This is the only thing I can think of that might work faster than absorption, and I don't want to shock him yet. His body's been through enough trauma. Natasha, get over here. I need help. Clint, prep the paddles."

Clint made sure the paddles were in order while Tasha and Bruce carefully injected six syringes full of water into different parts of Percy's body. "Come on, buddy," Clint said to Percy. "Stop it." Clint wished Percy could hear him.

Bruce waited a moment before sighing. "Okay, give them to me," Bruce said, holding out his hands. His face was lined with worry. Clint wondered if he was having a hard time controlling the Other Guy. "Clear," Bruce said again. Clint watched in something like horrified fascination as Percy was shocked. Bruce checked for a reading and bit his lip. "I need to shock him again."

"Aren't you—Didn't you say that wasn't a good idea?" Tony asked, his voice a touch higher than usual. Obvious signs of stress, increased breaths and heart rate, eyes wide, and—but no, Clint thought, now was not the time for his instincts to kick in. It must have been one of his nervous tics.

"Well, right now I'm just trying to get him to breathe again," Bruce answered calmly. "Clear." Bruce checked the readings again. "Come _on_, Percy. You're stronger than this." Steve opened his mouth, then closed it after a few seconds. Maybe he had wanted to say something captainly, or maybe he wanted to call in more doctors for help. "_Clear_," Bruce said forcefully, eyes flashing a light green color—_unconsciously?_, Clint speculated—and finally, _finally _they got a few beeps. The team closed their eyes for a moment collectively with a whispered, "Thank God," from Steve.

Clint reopened his eyes and saw Bruce checking Percy's stats. Bruce smiled slightly. "I think the water dosage thing worked a little. His readings are much better. Well," Bruce said, grimacing slightly, "maybe not much better, but out of the woods for now. I wonder why he relapsed." He pushed his slipping glasses up.

"I don't know, but it scared the crap outta me," Tony said, placing a hand over his reactor. His face _did_ look much paler than usual. "So now what?"

"Well, I don't want to inject him with anything else since his condition might deteriorate again, so I think we'll let him be," Bruce explained. "We'll just keep him surrounded by wet towels for now."

"I hope he will not be in a great deal of pain," Thor said, his booming voice a little quieter than usual—so a normal inside voice, basically—and Clint couldn't help but think that Percy had an effect on people: he made them do things they didn't usually do. Whether it be speaking quieter than usual in a room or trusting a person you had just met while you didn't trust someone you'd known for years. It was interesting, and Clint didn't mind reflecting a little deeper than usual for a change. He wasn't just a mindless assassin, which was a mistake that a few unfortunate people had made in the past.

"Could we maybe give him some mild pain killers to take the edge off it?" Steve asked hesitantly. "I don't know much about medicine, but that couldn't hurt him too much, could it?"

Bruce considered it. "I don't think it could have a really adverse affect on him. I'll give him a medium dose."

"So what are we supposed to do now?" Tony asked, lifting his hands and waving them around in a motion that just gave Clint a headache on top of things.

Natasha dragged a chair near the bed and slumped gracefully into it, her curly red locks bouncing with her movements. "Your favorite thing, Tony." She grinned tiredly, but her voice still managed to have a touch of sarcasm layered in it. "We wait."

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Clint woke up to the quiet murmuring of voices.

He hadn't meant to fall asleep, but a quick peek through almost-closed eyes told him that the others had fallen prey to fatigue, too. The entire team was sprawled out in chairs on the right side of Percy's bed. They had been staying up for forever watching Percy and making sure he was okay, and they were all exhausted. Then Clint remembered where he was and the reason he had woken up in the first place and calmed his breathing again. Some instinct told him that if he remained quiet and still, something would happen that definitely wouldn't if he was awake. He shifted slightly in the padded chair to where he could see the hospital bed. A bleary-eyed Percy was alert and talking to Fury, of all people.

"She's going to be really mad at you when she realizes that I woke up and she wasn't there," Percy was saying. Clint wondered who he was talking about. Annabeth, maybe? _Most likely_, he answered himself. They had sent her off on a nap three hours ago and still hadn't gone to get her. Clint silently agreed with Percy; she would be furious.

"That's why we aren't telling anyone you're awake. Banner would have my head, as would the other Avengers." Clint saw Fury give his signature smirk and resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Fury was getting old if he couldn't tell Clint was awake. "You're like the little brother they never had. They're quite protective of you."

Clint's eyes darted over to Tasha's form as she stirred slightly. Her eyes opened slowly and looked at him. He blinked his eyes once, slowly, and she blinked twice, quicker than Clint's slow one. Translation: _stay quiet and we might hear something good_, with her answering _okay_.

"What about Coeus? Is he gone?" Percy asked.

"Thanks to you," Fury said. "I'm not sure what you did, kid, but I'm pretty sure he's going to be gone for quite some time." Fury checked his watch, and Clint thought he seemed a touch impressed. "You know, I'm surprised you managed to stay awake this long. You're probably exhausted."

"Will power," Percy said, yawning widely. The bags under his eyes were still rather prominent and his hair was a rat's nest, but he was alive and as well as could be expected. "Thanks for giving me those keys, by the way. I could've gotten out, but it was easier that way."

Fury raised an eyebrow. "Well, I don't know about you, but I certainly couldn't save the world," he said dryly. "But, of course, that seems to be your specialty."

"It's all in the genes," Percy said, his words slurring with his drowsiness. His eyes slipped shut. Fury took the water cup Clint hadn't noticed before out of Percy's hand and set it down on the table. He pulled the covers up to cover Percy more snugly and rested a hand on Percy's shoulder.

"You did good, son," Fury said quietly. "You did good." After a few moments, Percy fell into a deeper sleep, and his body became completely relaxed. Fury stepped away from the bed and turned for the door. He got about halfway there before Clint had to say something. He couldn't help himself.

"That was sweet," Clint said cheekily, smiling.

Fury stopped and turned around. He looked at him hard, not even jumping at the sound of Clint's voice. "Do you want to disappear, Barton?"

"No, sir."

"Then shut your mouth." Fury turned back around with a swish of his coat and was out the door in seconds.

"Everyone's gone soft around here," Clint snorted softly. Yet another effect of being around Percy, although maybe it wasn't such a bad one.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Of course, when Percy woke up for real, the team was overjoyed. His muscles had completely healed with the time he was out (how that happened, Clint wasn't sure, but he really wanted Percy's auto-healing power), and he looked less like a zombie newly risen and more like a normal demigod. Of course, he was still drained and didn't even attempt to get out of bed, but progress was progress.

They exchanged stories on what happened, and Clint wasn't exactly sure what to think of Percy's story. It was stupid beyond belief, which might have been one of the reasons it worked, and incredibly inventive at the same time. Percy must have been really strong to push all that power backinto Coeus let alone taking it _from_ him in the first place. Of course, one thing Clint knew about Percy was that he was pretty stubborn when he wanted to be, and if he set his mind on something, like defeating a titan, he would do it, or die trying. Which, thankfully, didn't end up happening this time.

After that, Tony melodramatically reenacted Percy's adventure of being a hamster that Annabeth had so graciously told them earlier. Clint stayed clutching his sides from laughing too hard, and even Tasha cracked up on some. The performance ended with two more encores from Annabeth with Percy's face remaining a deep purple color the whole time. Clint wished he had taken a picture.

Percy and Annabeth regaled them with their adventure of a labyrinth that was under the crust of the earth that had collapsed a while ago. Clint snickered when Percy suggested that perhaps Annabeth had been a touch jealous of some girl named Rachel, and man, did it really get interesting then. Clint had never really gotten to see Percy bantering with his girlfriend, but it was something, for sure. He could tell it was all in good fun, though, but that didn't stop the team from giggling like ten-year-olds at a sleepover. It mainly consisted of Percy, with his teasing remarks, accusing Annabeth of seeming green with envy and Annabeth, with her snarky retorts, accusing him of lying and being oblivious. They finally finished, so Natasha and Clint told them of some non-top-secret missions that were interesting enough.

It didn't go on for long, however, since by what seemed to the thousandth time Percy's head lolled on his chest, Bruce shooed them all out of the room, scooping up Argos and taking him with him. Clint and the others bid Percy goodnight and walked out. Tony stopped them all just outside the door as it closed. "Wait for it," he said in answer to their questioning looks. He held up a finger and leaned in closer to the door. They all did the same.

"Scoot over," they heard Annabeth whisper from inside the room, and Clint grinned. They pulled away, Tony smiling smugly, to give them privacy.

"That was really sweet," Tasha said, a certain Look in her eyes that only came around when something Percy did something or something happened to Percy that was "sweet." Clint noticed it had just started making itself known about three days after Percy had come to live with them. Another effect of being around Percy.

Being around Percy made you realize just how many side effects he had, but Clint knew he didn't mind too much. It made the team all the better for it.

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**A/N: So, as you can see, I took a few liberties with the medical scene. Luckily, this is fanfiction, so it doesn't have to be entirely accurate! **I was maybe thinking of doing a little missing scene drabble from the hospital for the next chapter (only like 1,000 words or less and then the Blackjack one hopefully on time in about 9 days from now). The Blackjack one will be on time! Promise. Let me know what you think of that and this chapter! Also, if you get updates or something from **_**The Art of Finding Yourself**_**, I'm just fixing the grammar in the chapters. My grammar was atrocious… Thanks for reading! :)**


	8. Delirious

**A/N: I told you I would be quick! Two updates in two days. I'm on a roll. Here's that missing drabble scene I promised you guys. It takes place in the time between Percy's second flat line and Percy waking up to talk to Fury. This scene isn't in **_**The Art of Finding Yourself**_** because…well, you'll see. ;) **

**Disclaimer: I do not own **_**Twilight**_**, Percy Jackson, or the Avengers. Sorry, guys!**

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Delirious

Tony watched Percy sleeping and felt like that stalker vampire from _Twilight_.

Yes, so he wasn't really stalking him, per se, but making sure he didn't stop breathing randomly again. Steve had gone out in the hall to call Fury and update him on what had happened so far, Bruce had gone who-knows-where to do who-knows-what, Thor had gone to call Jane and tell her that everything was fine, and Clint and Natasha were asleep. At least, he thought they were asleep. Add that on to a nearly comatose young demigod, and Tony wasn't in the best company ever. And he was decidedly _bored. _

So he kept watching Percy and making sure he didn't die because Tony was _so _not going to let somebody die on his watch. It totally had nothing to do with the fact that he was just being sentimental and overprotective. At all.

Tony had been awake since the night before, and he'd been watching Percy for about thirteen hours now, except he wasn't watching by himself for the first ten hours. Now, he was on strict orders from Bruce to notify him if anything, _anything_, changed whatsoever. But on top of being bored, Tony was also tired. Bone tired. He had been up for the past twenty-five hours running high on adrenaline making sure his kind-of-like-a-little-brother didn't die. So, yeah, he was tired, and for a good reason, too.

But Tony totally felt more awake when Percy gasped in a breath and his eyes shot open. Tony scrambled up from his chair and tripped his way over to the bed. "You're fine, buddy calm down," Tony said soothingly to Percy as he gestured for Clint or Natasha to call for Bruce. Percy's eyes were glazed over, and he obviously wasn't all there.

"Am I dead?" he slurred. "I don't feel very dead. I feel heavy. If this is what dead feels like, it sucks. I thought being a ghost meant being light. Ow," he said, pressing a hand against his ribs. "Ow, being a ghost shouldn't hurt. I thought it was supposed to be really bright when you were dead. It's dark in here." Percy furrowed his brow like a kid who didn't get his way and was confused about it.

Tony was torn between laughing and worrying. He settled for a huff that was a combination between the two. "You aren't dead, Perce."

"No, because being dead doesn't suck and this _totally_ sucks," Percy mumbled, drooping. Tony was about to help him lie down again when Percy suddenly sat back up alarmingly fast. Tony glanced back at Clint and Natasha, and Clint mouthed "Bruce on the way." Tony sighed.

"Buddy, why don't you lay down before you hurt yourself?" Tony suggested gently.

"No, I gotta save the world," Percy explained earnestly, nodding his head emphatically. "I need to save my bestest friends."

"You already did that," Tony pointed out.

Percy squinted in confusion. "Um, maybe I need to do it again, then. I can't remember doing that." Percy tried to get up.

"Woah, woah, woah, kid! You're not going anywhere." Tony pushed an unresisting Percy slowly back down on the bed. "I think you've had enough of being the hero for a few weeks, okay?" Steve and Thor came back in the room at that time and blinked at Percy being awake. Tony shook his head at them. "Where's Bruce?" he hissed. "Percy's going to hurt himself." They all shrugged helplessly.

"Bruce?" Percy whispered back to Tony loudly. He leaned in closer to Tony. "Did you know that sometimes Bruce turns green and gets lots of muscles? 'Cause he totally does."

Tony turned to the others. "This is freaking me out. Make him stop."

"Tony!" Natasha said.

"Tony," Bruce said, walking into the room quickly. "Hello, Percy," he said cautiously.

"You can turn green," Percy said to Bruce seriously. Bruce nodded and smiled. He went and pushed Percy back on the pillows.

"You need to rest, Percy," Bruce told him. "You're tired."

"I'm not tired," Percy protested, closing his eyes and yawning.

"Of course you aren't," Bruce agreed.

Percy sighed and moved his face further into the pillow. "Night guys. I love everybody bunches," he mumbled and was out like a light.

"That was simultaneously really funny, creepy, and adorable at the same time," Tony said. "He wasn't even on anything. The medicine wore off like three hours ago."

Steve shrugged. "I guess he was just delirious or something."

Bruce shook his head. "Just in case, let's not give him that kind of medicine again."

Thor smiled slightly. "I do not believe he will remember that when he awakens."

"Definitely not," Natasha said, looking at Percy in amusement and a hint of fondness.

Clint grinned. "Please tell me we got that on camera." Natasha smacked his arm and Tony laughed.

Tony was so going to show the video feed JARVIS had no doubt taken to Percy later. He was never going to let Percy forget this one, short moment of deliriousness.

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**A/N: Yep, so a short and sweet little drabble thing I did. And Percy doesn't even remember it at all because he was delirious! Anyway, Blackjack chapter up next and it should be out in maybe 6-9 days. Hopefully. I hope you enjoyed this! I really loved writing it. Let me know what you thought, peeps. **


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